CSA Week 6: Summer favorites begin to ripen at the farm

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: sugar snap peas, cucumbers, kohlrabi, beets, Napa cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, broccoli and garlic scapes.

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

News from the farm

The other morning, Heather-Marie and I walked out across our fields in the early morning when I snapped this photo. 

Look too closely and you’ll see some weeds and maybe a few beds where plants have failed. But we’ve put everything we had into this nearly 2-acre plot for the past three months, and sometimes we forget to stop and appreciate just how beautiful it is. We are tired, but we are grateful.

As we approach mid-July, we are seeing the plants begin to take off. The first planting of snap peas is beginning to produce. The cucumber plants in the high tunnel are now 8-feet high and we pick cucumbers off them daily, storing them in our walk-in cooler. The tomato plants in the high tunnel are filled with fruit, and we are anxiously looking for the first signs of red on them. 

Also exciting is that the flower beds are beginning to burst with color: sunflowers, calendula, cosmos and strawflowers to name but a few. It won’t be long before we’ll be offering weekly flower deliveries both at our farm stand and to our CSA members.

This season, we are also experimenting with growing different cover crops in our fields. Cover crops help revive the soil and suppress weed growth.

In just our second season at this new location, we could not be more happy with how the farm has taken shape. It’s come with a lot of hard work from us, from our family and from our friends.

Farm talk: The American kestrel

Our next farm event will be at the farm this Saturday, July 23, at 4 p.m.  

Join us and learn about the American kestrel, North America’s smallest falcon.  Farm members Clinton and Kristina will be teaching us about kestrels. Kestrel populations are declining and one way that people can help is by putting up boxes and participating in a monitoring program.  

Clinton is the Head Naturalist at Friends of Sax Zim Bog and the coordinator for the kestrel program in the bog. 

Two years ago we put up a kestrel box at the farm and for the first time we had a nesting pair and babies!  Clinton came out and banded the young.  He and Kristina will have slides and a short talk and then we’ll walk out to the box.

This week’s veggies and recipes

Pan-seared garlic scapes

I have heard of people grilling garlic scapes, so I got to wondering what would happen if I just tried to pan sear them? 

Ingredients:

• 4 to 6 Garlic scapes
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or canola or vegetable)
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

I heated up an iron skillet to medium-high heat and put 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil in it (I like this oil because it can handle high heat, but canola or vegetable would be just fine). 

I put about 6 scapes in the pan once it was near to smoking hot and sprinkled a little salt on it.

I let the scapes sit in the heat until they were nicely charred. I turned and tossed then a few times. 

I put them on a plate, drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and some peppers and snacked on them once they got to room temperature.

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi and Pea Vine Patties with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

“From Asparagus to Zucchini”

AMAZING and a little spicy!!

Sauce:

• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 5 oz plain yogurt

Patties

• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 T minced ginger
• 1 T minced garlic or garlic scapes
• 1 T curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ c packed chopped pea vines or Asian greens
• 3 medium kohlrabi, peeped and shredded
• 2 T flour
• 1 egg
• ¼ c vegetable oil
• 1 c bread crumbs

Combine sauce ingredients and let stand 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for the patties except breadcrumbs and vegetable oil.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Form kohlrabi mixture into small patties, squeezing hard to extract excess moisture.  Roll patties in the bread crumbs (FARMER NOTE- I actually think the patties stick together better if you add the bread crumbs to the mixture instead of rolling).  Fry patties on both sides until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve with cilantro dipping sauce.  

Makes 6 patties.  

Napa cabbage

Asian Fusion Slaw

“Tastes from the Bluff” cookbook

We love this recipe!  We have also used this with kale; kohlrabi could be substitued for the peppers.  The dressing is very versatile.

Dressing

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tb toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tb finely minced fresh ginger
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• Slaw
• 6 cups shredded Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 bell peppers, sliced into sticks
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• salt
• 1 cup chopped salted peanuts
• 1 cup minced cilantro

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.  In a big bowl, toss together the cabbage, peppers and onions.  Pour the dressing over the cabbage, and toss.  Salt to taste.  Add the peanuts and cilantro right before serving.  This salad tastes better the second day, but wait with sprinkling the peanuts on until just before serving, or else they will soak up the oil and get soft.